Police planning extra patrols for Seattle Mardi Gras

Kris Kime is carried away from the scene in Pioneer Square where he was assaulted. Kime died from his injuries.(Paul Kitagaki Jr./seattlepi.com file)

Tomorrow is Fat Tuesday, the day before Lent that leads to raucous parties in New Orleans and, on occasion, Seattle.

The night of Feb. 27 and the early morning of Feb. 28, 2001, Seattle experienced a violent riot during Mardi Gras celebrations in Pioneer Square.

Kris Kime, 20, was killed during the melee as uniformed officers stood close by, doing nothing. Many people said such police paralysis was inexcusable.

“Delay in the use of force, and the hesitation to accept responsibility for its employment when the situation clearly demands it, will always be interpreted as weakness,” the late Ken Saucier, head of the police officers’ union, told P-I columnist Robert Jamieson Jr. that year.

There were many failures that happened during the 2001 Mardi Gras event. Then-Mayor Paul Schell stayed home. Gil Kerlikowske, police chief at the time, ordered officers not to intervene as the streets turned to chaos. People were beaten in view of news cameras. Some people fired shots into the crowd. More than 60 people were injured.

This year, police are expecting nothing like what Seattle faced a decade ago – even though some anarchists have had continued small, violent protests in the past few weeks. But police are taking precautions and have planned extra patrols.

“We’ll have resources deployed and a few officers in plain clothes for anything that goes on downtown or any other part of the city,” said Sgt. Sean Whitcomb, who didn’t detail the specific operations planned Tuesday. “We welcome everyone to come visit and celebrate.